Community On Guard Against Terror Attacks

Community Emergency Response Team (Cert) volunteers from the People’s Associaton (PA) will undergo Community Vigilance Workshops starting this month.

The volunteers, who are now trained in first aid and emergency response skills, have also been trained by the police on safety, observation skills, and crime prevention measures.

In addition, they will learn more about global terrorism and identifying suspicious behaviour, dealing with situations involving suspicious objects, and handling the aftermath of attacks and recovery measures.

Acts of terror can come “like a blot from the blue”, said Mr Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development at an event at Jurong West to train 240 volunteers yesterday (5 Dec).

"We want to prevent (terror attacks), and then if and when it happens, we want to be prepared. Prevention is not just the role of the men and women in uniform," he added.

PA targets to train about 2,000 team leaders by March next year, and 5,000 Cert members by the end of next year.

How can the community come together to tackle the threat of terrorism? Share your thoughts with us here!

Source: “Terror acts can come like a bolt from the blue, vigilance volunteers told” (Straits Times, 6 December 2015)